IoF responds to the new Civil Society Strategy

It is welcome that the government has set out its vision on the role it can play in strengthening civil society – acknowledging the breadth of the sector, its reach and impact, as well as pressures and challenges it faces.

There are some positive ambitions set out by the government, for "the UK to become the global centre for philanthropy practice", and an aim to make giving as easy and as compelling as possible. These are commendable aspirations, and there are some positive ideas in the strategy to explore collective and place-based giving and a renewed focus on corporate philanthropy. However, we believe the strategy could have gone further in clearly setting the government’s role in promoting philanthropy and giving across all government departments and embedding an ambition to raise, celebrate, and promote charitable giving more widely.

The new strategy states that it is the start of a conversation, not the final word, and we will need continual engagement and dialogue with government and partners in the sector to drive meaningful change and we look forward to working with DCMS to build on its plans.

Further information:

The government have outlined their vision for civil society today. The strategy sets out how government will work with and for civil society. Read the strategy here.